Awar
Awar was a Sarquil black mage who used to serve in the court of Vanna in the Sultanate of Karaganda until Adela al-Saif took over. He was driven into exile but was taken into the Order of the Black Rose thanks to his connections to Belial de Ardyn. He pretended to serve Khalid al-Saif but was later revealed to be a mole working for Iblis al-Djinn and the Southern Horde. He was slain by Refan d'Zarnagon after the Battle of Vanna. Biography Early Years Awar's childhood was a miserable one as everyone picked on him because of his deformity. However, Sultana Razia al-Saif heard of Awar's troubles and pitied him. She took him to her court in Vanna and was impressed by the level of knowledge that Awar had. Despite this the others in the palace were not as tolerant as Razia was, but Awar ignored them. He concentrated on studying black magic, hoping to finally be of use. During these times he also met Belial de Ardyn, and the two men seemed to get along from their first meeting as they discussed various aspects of black magic and politics. Awar suspected that something was going on between Belial and Razia but he thought it better to not get too involved in the matter. When Razia was murdered in 1 AOE and Adela took her place, Awar was sent into exile with Razia's son Khalid and Ismail, the former captain of the Black Guard. The trio were taken in by Belial who introduced them to the Order of the Black Rose. Awar helped tutor Khalid in politics although he was frustrated that Khalid was more interested in learning to wield twin scimitars. However, unbeknownst to his companions, Awar was in fact working as a spy for Adela and Grand Vizier Iblis al-Djinn. He knew he could not slay Khalid and Belial, and he chose to use their connections to search for knowledge of the whereabouts of shards of Krystallopyr. Iblis and Adela hoped to obtain one shard in order to reforge the legendary sword, but for years it seemed that all shards had been destroyed. Nevertheless Awar would not give up, and he hoped that he would find the shard one day. Life remained relatively peaceful for the next few years until a group of Totenkopfs tried to assassinate Belial. Disturbed by this strange development, Belial found out that the Totenkopfs were planning to strike at Remon next. He gathered his most trusted supporters and immediately set sail to Remon onboard the Ardent. Godslayer Era The Age of Emptiness By the time Belial began his voyage to Remon aboard the Ardent, Awar followed along as an advisor. He knew that Belial's occasionally hot temper and verbose manner of speech might be troublesome, so Belial would require his help eventually. Awar was among the few survivors when the Ravensworth Watch blew up the ship. While Belial had been knocked out during the attack, it was Awar who introduced his group to the Wanderers and managed to get them to save him and his companions. When Belial regained his consciousness, he discovered that the Totenkopfs had manipulated the Watch to attack the ship. Fearing what might happen if the Totenkopfs attacked Remonton next, Belial asked the Wanderers to accompany him to Remonton... for a fee, of course. Awar was crucial in these negotiations and helped to explain things briefly to the heroes they had met. Awar followed Belial loyally to Remonton even though he was not sure what to think of the new allies that Belial had gained from Adram Alek and Axikasha Keiran. Nevertheless he knew that his first priority was to stay close to both Belial and Khalid. He kept quiet through most of the journey but did assist the group with magic when a group of Totenkopfs ambushed them. He was not happy when the group decided to take the Totenkopf mage Izael Korath prisoner, and he was also troubled by the sudden appearance of Kaisa Blackwell, Rhylian Loras and Dieter von Waldheim who tagged along. On Death's Trail Awar helped Ax and the others get into Remonton. He did what he could when an ice elemental attacked the party in the city. Although the ice elemental was defeated and the Second Battle of Remonton ended, Awar was surprised to hear that the battle had only been a distraction so that the Totenkopfs could kidnap their true target, Belial's nephew Mordecai de Ardyn. He stayed in Remonton for a year but did not assist in the rebuilding of the city. A Game of Deception Awar remained as an observer in Remonton during King Marcus Sarillius's meeting with the delegates in 11 AOE. He witnessed the forming of the new Grand Alliance but thought nothing of it. His loyalty lay solely on Belial and the Order... at least until he and Belial were ready to move to Vanna to like Belial had promised years ago. Awar was called to action late at night by Belial who informed him and the others that King Marcus had been kidnapped. Awar assumed that no one else than the Totenkopfs could be behind such a sinister scheme. He, like his companions, was unaware that there would be more surprises in store for all of them during the quest to free the king from the mysterious kidnappers. Echoes of War Awar followed the heroes to the Ruined Kingdom. He stayed behind with Waldheim's group while Ax's group proceeded into the temple and sensed some powerful magic in the temple, which made him curious. The group saw a mysterious elfess sneaking around, and the newcomer turned out to be Tiyana Natiya. After the misunderstanding had been cleared up, Awar and the others witnessed Totenkopfs entering the temple in pursuit of Ax. They and Tiyana followed the Totenkopfs into the temple. The group soon found themselves in the middle of a battle between Ax's group, the Totenkopfs and also Marcus's mysterious kidnappers who turned out to be Varalia Earthhaven and Xerathas d'Zarnagon. The battle came to a halt soon when Jacob Seneron, the man who had released the ice elemental in Remonton, appeared and explained how everything had been going as planned. Jacob was possessed by the god Nergal, but Awar did not pay attention to the awesome power of a god radiating through the host. Awar even ignored Nergal's reference to Razia and did not care about how violently Belial had reacted to Nergal's words. Instead Awar had sensed something far more interesting: two powerful magical auras. He figured out that those auras came from the shards of the Dragon Diamond which Nesa carried with him and from a shard of Krystallopyr which was stuck in the chest of a still living dark elf named Mori'sul Agara. He realized that his long search was finally over. The possessed Jacob used Nergal's powers to a great effect and slew Ax. However, Ax was revived by Hephaestus who took over her body and helped the heroes in the battle against Jacob. Refan d'Zarnagon did his part as well by freeing Mori'sul who was possessed by Shakkan. The heroes finally managed to defeat Jacob, and the temple began crumbling. Awar used the opportunity to snatch the shard of Krystallopyr from the ground and hid it in his pockets. Meanwhile Mori'sul and Shakkan used their strength to create a portal which the heroes used to escape the temple. However, the possessed Mori'sul words still rang in their heads: they had traitors in their midst. Awar followed the group out of the temple after the battle although he was not happy that the heroes had chosen to take Xerathas and Varalia along as captives. Refan was enraged by the incident and Nergal's prophetic words and claimed that Belial had been lying to the group all this time, and Awar watched the show with mild amusement. When Belial admitted the truth and Refan tried to attack, Ismail protected his master and subdued Refan. Although the incident ended without bloodshed, Awar became more wary of Refan who he saw as too perceptive. Awar also realized that he had to find a way to use the shards of the Dragon Diamond without letting the heroes know about it, but he chose to bide his time and wait for a proper opportunity to act. The appearance of the Shadow shocked many, but Awar remained calm. He felt something strange in that creature, and he got even more curious when he heard that the Shadow had been responsible for kidnapping Marcus in Remonton. Awar was quite happy, though: if it had not been for Marcus's kidnapping, he might never have located the shards of Krystallopyr and the Dragon Diamond in one day. However, one thing that made him somewhat worried was a mysterious, dark presence which he could not quite pinpoint but which he knew was with the party. He wondered if this presence was one of the traitors that Shakkan had spoken of, but he chose to keep this information for himself. He did not want to draw too much attention to this potential threat or himself at this point. A Crimson Dawn More info later. Tears of the Sun Awar followed Khalid, Ismail and the others onboard the Hiltraud to Libaterra. He was eager to get back home and see what had happened in Vanna while he had been away. More info later. The Winds of Wrath More info later. Death When Ronove Thanadar assumed the mantle of a Dreadlord from the defeated Leraje and became one of the leaders of the Northern Horde in the aftermath of the Battle of Vanna, he let Awar, his former comrade in the Alliance, free. However, in a cruel twist he also made Awar meet none other than Refan who still remembered how brutally Awar had murdered Nalaen. Awar panicked and fled in terror as Refan gave pursuit. In the end the two clashed, and Refan ended up killing Awar while uttering a twisted version of the line which Awar had once said to him when Nalaen had perished. Awar's life of deception and misery came to a grisly end as Refan devoured his heart. Appearance Awar has been a hunchback from childhood, and he still has not quite accepted his crude form. He has greasy black hair and a face that some say resembles a bird of prey. He is clad in plain brown-ish robes. Personality and Traits Awar is polite and sometimes acts as a spokesman for his masters. When he is not needed, he prefers to stay in the background and observe what is happening around him. Powers and Abilities Awar knows middle-level black magic spells but is poor in close combat. He prefers to rely on his wit rather than brutal attacks. Relationships Adela al-Saif Awar worked for Razia in the court of Vanna but also got along with Adela until Razia died. Adela sent him into exile along with Ismail and Khalid. Although she had tolerated Awar, she was repulsed by his deformity. Awar, however, saw Adela as a goddess just like Razia had been although he was sad to see that she would never reach her sister in wisdom. Belial de Ardyn Belial's relationship with Awar was distant but respectful. The two usually did not talk much unless Ismail was nearby, but Belial was eager to learn black magic from Awar who was eager to teach him in exchange for information. Awar often acted as a diplomat during his missions with Belial, and he was always the more level-headed of the two. When he heard of Belial's death, he felt indifferent; although Belial had been a good friend, his death was a natural cycle of life in his view, and he would continue with Belial's original plan the best way he could. Iblis al-Djinn Iblis is Awar's master who sent Awar to spy on Belial and Khalid on his behalf. Awar eagerly worked for him in order gain more power, and Iblis used Awar to locate a shard of Krystallopyr in order to pursue his own, shady agenda. Ismail The relationship between Awar and Ismail was always formal. Ismail felt uncomfortable being with Awar, one of the few Sarquil who possessed magic. Nevertheless he respected Awar's devotion to teach Khalid, and he and Awar eventually got to know each other better in the years of exile. Awar never told Ismail everything about his life but they got along and turned out to be a good team in battles because their strengths and weaknesses complimented one another. Khalid al-Saif Awar worked as a court mage in Vanna, and he always did his best to amuse the young Khalid who was one of the few people who was not put off by his crude, hunched back. When Khalid reached his teens, however, he began hanging out with Ismail more because Awar could not really teach him any swordfighting. The two have grown distant in these past years but are by no means hostile. Maybe it is the age difference or Khalid's fear of mages, since Awar is rather old and a mage. Razia al-Saif Razia saw Awar as a useful servant and advisor although she thought it was unfortunate that Awar was mishapen. Awar saw Razia as a wise albeit weak ruler but stayed by her side to the end. This loyalty eventually forced Awar into exile along with Ismail and Khalid. See also *Belial de Ardyn *House of Saif *Iblis al-Djinn *Ismail Category:Characters Category:Clergy of Artemicia Category:Grand Alliance Category:Humans Category:Libaterra Category:Southern Horde Category:Sultanate of Karaganda Category:Third Age